The dirt on composting: How to turn garbage into black gold

From April through November, master gardeners take turns providing free composting demonstrations in a quiet corner of Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis. As a bonus, they showcase their nearby native plant gardens, enriched by compost.

Composting will be demonstrated several times this fall at Quiet Waters Park

Ginny Klocko is one of a dozen area residents who spend a good deal of their free time digging through kitchen scraps and yard waste.

They love it.

They are a hearty corps of master gardeners, specially trained by the University of Maryland Extension Service to demonstrate various methods of composting, turning garbage into gold. Black gold, that is.

Compost can enrich a garden as mulch or a form of fertilizer and soil conditioner.

From April through November, the corps take turns providing free composting demonstrations in a quiet corner of Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis. As a bonus, they showcase their nearby native plant gardens, enriched by compost.

They happily provide demonstrations at other venues like schools, businesses, environmental fairs and festivals. This group annually gives more than 400 hours of their time to this important 13-year-old project.

The one-hour demonstrations take place on the Wildwood Trail in Quiet Waters Park. The gate attendant and park employees can provide directions to the trail, located behind the Blue Heron Center.

These master gardeners, headed by Pam Dennison, partnered with the park, the Anne Arundel County Department of Recycling for the program, plus they enlisted the aid of several area coffee roasters, coffee shops and other retailers who provide waste grounds, chaff and other items to compost. The volunteers supplement that supply with their own yard waste, leaves, grass clippings and kitchen waste.

The master gardeners also provide copies of helpful composting tips to attendees. Children at the demonstrations at Quiet Waters Park or schools receive a "Composting Matters" coloring book.

A section of the bucolic woodland trail is lined with 15 types of compost bins.

Even when the volunteers are not on-site, concise information is posted next to each bin. An outdoor bulletin board displays additional information about composting.

Why compost?

Many food scraps and almost a third of residential yard waste can be composted, instead of taking up space in an expensive landfill. According to the Home And Garden Information Center of UMD Extension, up to 75 percent of the materials in typical landfills could be composted.

Composting the stuff would significantly reduce the waste stream, extend the life of the landfill and save tax dollars.

The composted material can be used in your yard as soil and fertilizer, reducing what you need to purchase in stores. The compost, also called humus, is rich, dark and crumbly. It provides numerous benefits to the flowers, vegetables and other plant life on a property.

Composting is not brain surgery, though some methods of composting do require a little bit of sweat equity.

A key ingredient for successful composting, according to Klocko, is water.

Some composting devices prevent water from getting inside, so water must be added.

"Compost needs to have the consistency of a wrung out sponge," she said.

The recipe for a good compost includes a mix of what she called "green stuff" (carbon sources) or "brown stuff" (nitrogen sources).

One of Klocko's favorite bins is made entirely of 90 concrete blocks, divided into three sections. The blocks cost about $125 and last for years.

Some, shaped like barrels, are set on frames and are designed to tumble in place or roll when turned.

The manufacturer of the "Green Cone" composter claims a gallon of food waste, including meat, can be added daily. Set in a sunny part of the garden atop an underground basket set into a hole, the cone prevents animals from getting to the compost.

Another do-it-yourself composting bin is made of recycled wood pallets, strengthened with several PVC pipes. Yet another can be made out with a plain garbage can and a hand drill.

The free bin offered by the county is made of durable polyethylene fencing material that can be adjusted in size. Its open design optimizes aeration and fast composting.

Yard waste includes leaves, grass clippings, garden plants, twigs, prunings, small branches and small trees. It also includes natural Christmas trees and wreaths. There is no limit to the amount of yard waste you can put out for collection, but do follow the bagging, size and weight rules.

The county composts the yard waste it collects, keeping a valuable resource out of the landfills.

For a $25 monthly fee, kitchen waste will be collected and composted at a 25-acre farm in Aberdeen. Details about the enterprise, operated by veterans, can be found at www.veterancompost.com or www.VCResidential.com.